Fixing the First Page Feature Giveaway!

Photo credit: cellar_door_films on Flickr
So way back when I wrote a post on first page clichés, one of you lovely readers asked if I’d consider starting a public first page critique thing. And I’ve considered it and decided it might be fun.

So! Depending on how popular this feature is, I’ll be doing a public first 250 word critique every once in a while. Using the lovely rafflecopter widget, anyone interested in winning a PUBLIC (as in, featured in a post on this blog) first page critique can enter. Some things to note:

  • ONLY the first 250 words will be critiqued (up to finishing the sentence). If you win and send me more, I will crop it myself. No exceptions.

  • ONLY the first page. I don’t want 250 random words from your manuscript, or from chapter 3. If you win the critique and send me anything other than the first 250 words of your manuscript, I will choose someone else.

  • I will actually critique it. Here. On the blog. I will say things as nicely as I can, but I do tend to be a little blunt. If you’re not sure you can handle a public critique, then you may want to take some time to think about it before you enter.

  • Genre restrictions. I am most experienced with YA & NA, but I will still accept MG and Adult. HOWEVER. If your first page has any erotic content on it, I ask that you don’t enter. I want to be able to post the critique and the first 250 in its entirety without making anyone uncomfortable, and if you win and you enter a page with erotic content, I will choose someone else.

  • You must have your first page ready. Should you win, you need to be able to submit your first page within 48 hours of my contacting you to let you know you won. If 48 hours pass and I haven’t heard from you, again, I will choose someone else.

  • You’ll get the most out of this if it isn’t a first draft. Obviously, I have no way of knowing if you’re handing me a first draft (though I will probably suspect because it’s usually not that difficult to tell). I won’t refuse your page if it’s a first draft, but you should know that this critique will likely be of more use if you’ve already had your betas/CPs look over it. Why? Because if you don’t, the critique I give you will probably contain a lot of notes that your betas & CPs could have/would have told you.

  • There will not be a round 2 (unless you win again in a future contest). I hate to have to say this, but if you win a critique, it’s NOT an invitation to send me a bunch of your revisions. I wish I had the time available to be able to look at revisions, but sadly, I don’t. If you try to break this rule, I will nicely say no, and also remember to choose someone else should you win a second contest. Which would make me sad. :(

So that’s it! If you’re okay with all of the above and would like to enter to be the first ever public critique on Writability, do the thing with the rafflecopter widget below. You have until Saturday at midnight EST to enter!

Yay!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

33 comments:

Patchi said...

Great idea! Crits are so much fun.

Patchi said...

As for the question, I'd submit my fantasy WIP, which I'm not sure if it is YA or NA.

Ava Jae said...

Fantasy YA or NA! Awesome. I do love fantasy. :)

Good luck!

Riki said...

What a wonderful idea! I would use my current WIP, of which I'm editing now, for this critique!

Ava Jae said...

Awesome! Editing is my favorite part. Good luck! :)

Sally Spratt said...

FIngers crossed :) Have a finished, edited and beta read MS. Thanks.

Ava Jae said...

Perfect! I wish you all the best! :)

Farida Mestek said...

I would use it for my YA fantasy novel that I'm revising at the moment.

Robin Red said...

Whoa, I just realized this was here.

Ava Jae said...

Yay fantasy! Good luck! ^_^

Ava Jae said...

Mmmmhmmm. :)

Robin Red said...

Thank you, Ava :)

Ava Jae said...

Sure thing! It was a good suggestion. :)

Shineka Robinson said...

This is gonna be great.

Ava Jae said...

I certainly hope so! ^_^

Braden Russell said...

Cool beans! I like this idea. Making a mental note to steal it at some point in the very far future.

Ava Jae said...

Ha ha go for it! :)

Leandra said...

If I won I'd use it on my YA historical fantasy. This is a fun giveaway-whether I win or not, definitely can't wait to check out the crit post!

Ava Jae said...

More fantasy entries! This is making me excited. And thank you, Leandra! I look forward to posting. :)


Good luck!

Hannah Hunt said...

I'd use it from my YA sci-fi. Sounds like a great opportunity!

Ava Jae said...

Oooo Sci-Fi! Awesome! I am definitely a YA Sci-Fi fan. :D


Good luck!

Amy Dashwood said...

If I won, I'd definitely use the critique for the novel I'm trying to finish editing! Had several beta readers go through it but more constructive criticism would be AWESOME.

Sydney Aaliyah said...

Cool idea. Thanks for doing this Ava.

Lana said...

I'd use it for my historical romance. Thanks for putting this on!

Ava Jae said...

Yay! I wish you all the best! :)

Ava Jae said...

I thought it was a great idea, too. :) And you're totally welcome! Good luck!

Ava Jae said...

Awesome! You're very welcome—I wish you all the best! :)

Meghan said...

Ohhh yay! I'm quite proud of the intro to my fantasy story and it's been well-received by my beta readers but I'd love another opinion! Fingers crossed.

Ava Jae said...

Sounds great! Good luck! ^_^

A.R. Farryn said...

I just love this type of contests. Glad I found it in time.

Ava Jae said...

I'm glad you found it, too! Good luck! :)

Mayken said...

Such a great idea! Here's hoping I win. I've rewritten my opening too often.

Ava Jae said...

Openings are tough to get right and often need quite a bit of tweaking. Good luck!

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